Off to a Great Start

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By the end of the first week, classes are in full swing at Conserve School.

Students in “Drawn to Nature” finished painting their canvas art bags where they keep watercolors and other supplies, ready to harness inspiration and capture moments with brush and color. In ceramics, students practiced two wedging techniques, a very important step in preparing clay to ensure a homogeneous material that is free of air bubbles. By Friday students had formed their first pieces, pinch pots!

After cool days in the fifties the week prior to move-in, the weather warmed up just in time for Field Instruction classes. Students showed off their swimming skills, practiced portaging canoes, and learned some new paddling techniques on Big Donahue Lake. They will continue to practice their canoeing and backpacking skills in preparation for Exploration Week, coming up September 18th-25th.

The students in Jeff and Michael’s classes literally broke down the wall that divides History and English to engage in an enlightening inter-disciplinary learning session. Students traveled back to the 1960s and played the roles of legislators and environmental activists, charged with drafting a bill to define and protect wilderness areas using federal regulations. Did you know that it took over sixty drafts and eight years for the Wilderness Act of 1964 to be signed into law? Conserve School students are giving us hope for the future. Maya, Mary, Becky, and Eric’s bill, the “Wilderness Protection Act” was passed and signed into law by our first female commander-in-chief, President Maya, in just under four hours!

Speaking of the weekend, we’re off to work in the garden, bike the trails, go birding, fish on Big Don, hike to Inkpot, play music around the fire, watch movies, explore Bond Falls, play cards, eat cookies, journey through a labyrinth, canoe in Sylvania, and most importantly, sleep in! Tengan un buen fin de semana!

~ Donelle Scaffidi, Graduate Fellow

Erin and Woogie having fun in Field Instruction!

Pardo presents portaging as a piece of pie

Students tread water to pass the swim test

Clara is busy studying between classes

Students in AP Environmental Science take their first quiz

Students define “wilderness” in English class

Breaking down the dividing walls

President Maya signs The Wilderness Act into law, secret service standing by